Bristol City

Gary Owers
Former Bristol City player and BBC Radio Bristol summariser

There's lots of speculation and Bristol City will have to move quick if Liam does go.

If you view what he's been through this season in his personal life and the fact that he's almost heading home [to Norwich], I don't think you can really deny him that.

It's about what Bristol City do next and they have to look to the future - football is pretty brutal, nothing should surprise you, so they'll have to think about appointing his replacement.

To end in the play-offs and everybody was looking forward to next season already, and hoping that we can achieve that position again and get to the final or promoted.

All of a sudden very quickly you've got to deal with Liam possibly leaving - it's a big thing.

He'll have all those relationships he's built up over time with the staff - will the staff go with Liam? All those relationships he's built up with the players, and a new manager has got to come in and start again.

His achievement at Bristol City has been amazing. He's taken Bristol City from a mid-table team, developed his own style of play and got them a couple of steps from reaching the Premier League. The last person to do that was Gary Johnson.

There's been a lot of years where City haven't really achieved anything in of league position. All of a sudden they've achieved it and that comes with success.

It might unsettle a few players. They might see it as an opportunity for them to start moving on, he might come back and try and recruit a few players that have played with him at Bristol City.

It's going to be a pretty unsettling couple of weeks. It's probably not something [the club] anticipated, so they're going to have to get some work done behind the scenes.

David Pottier
Fan writer

Image source, BBC Sport/Getty Images

So barely two weeks after steering City to the play-offs and an ignominious defeat against losing finalists Sheffield United, head coach Liam Manning is moving to his native East Anglia to take the hot seat at Norwich City.

Why would he leave to go to a side who finished mid-table last season?

There have been rumblings of discontent brewing behind the scenes over how much money he would have been given to invest in the squad and build on the success of this season – the indications are it was not going to be a lot, which isn't surprising when City have operating losses approaching £20m before player sales.

Will fans be upset at the departure of this so-called up and coming English coach? OK, he steered the club to its highest league placing for 17 years, but he was hardly a fans favourite from the time he took over from Nigel Pearson in November 2023.

Why would this be so? Save for a run of fine home form since the turn of the year, the football style he adopted was not of a type to get you out of your seat.

He had some bad luck with injured players - Luke McNally absent from the defence being a key loss - but his record in the transfer market is questionable.

Few City fans would disagree with the sentiment that not far short of £10m was squandered in last summer's spending on hopeful forward punts Fally Mayulu and Sinclair Armstrong, whilst marquee g Scott Twine has largely not lived up to his billing.

Manning seemed infatuated with this player, who was under him at MK Dons and, although his injury record has ruled him out for spells, even when fit he's only been used in 68% of his available minutes. Few would complain if Manning tried to lure him away from Ashton Gate to him at Carrow Road!

Manning is ambitious to the extent that he's done to City what he did to Oxford as he seeks to further his career.

With City owner Steve Lansdown appearing reluctant to splash some cash, Manning probably realises it will hard going to emulate this season's play-off participation. Rather than see this as unfinished business he is taking the easier option of moving on while his stock is still high.

Find more for David at the Forever Bristol City Podcast, external

Image source, Rex Features

Bristol City forward Yu Hirakawa has been called into Japan's senior squad for the first time.

The 24-year-old is part of the squad for World Cup qualifiers against Australia and Indonesia next month.

Hirakawa ed Bristol City on loan from J-League club Machida Zelvia in July before making the move permanent in February.

He scored two goals in 19 Championship appearances for the Robins this season and has previously featured for Japan's under-22 and under-23 sides.

Japan became the first nation to qualify for the 2026 World Cup in March and the games against Australia and Indonesia are their final matches of the qualification stage.

We asked for your views on Sheffield United's play-off semi-final victory over Bristol City, which sets up a Wembley final against either Sunderland or Coventry.

Here is a selection of views from Sheffield United ers...

Clive: With the momentum from those last two games I feel we are going to Wembley full of confidence, and having beaten both teams this season I have no worries!

Mark: After nine previous failures in my lifetime, I sadly see Wembley as a chore and duty. But if we actually do it this time and win there for the first time in 100 years and then I didn't go I would never forgive myself. Being a Blade is never easy.

Jonathan Really pleased with the Blades performance and our quality shone through in the end. I don't fancy Wembley as we have a terrible history there. Is this our time? If we do win promotion our US owners will need to dig deep if we are to stay up this time.

Aswad: Feeling very confident in of our squad, mentality and form. However, it's a one-off game and anything can happen. Based on past play-off final performances, I just want us to show up and perform like we know we can.

Jimmy: It's the first time in my lifetime we're heading into a play-off final with a squad intact (as it stands, touch wood), so to overcome our reputation and history, it's our best opportunity yet. Hard to feel confident as a Blade, and there's still the horrible feeling of what comes next year if we do win one game, but as they say, win lose or draw, we'll still come back for more.

Neill: Incredible, some of the season's best performances just when we needed it. Looks like Sunderland in the final, I just hope whichever red and white stripes goes up doesn't do the same as the one coming down.

Bristol City fans have also been having their say...

Matt: Overall, I think City were just outdone by a better team. The red card in the first leg extinguished all hope and certainly turned the tide against us. With the injuries to some of our key players, we didn't have that last push to undo a talented team. It's been a great year and a bright future ahead for the City. Good luck to Sheffield United in the final.

Pete: It didn't go wrong, we played above what we were expected to play and all the plaudits to the team for doing so well. With an increased investment in the team we could have got into the Premier League. However, I don't blame Steve Lansdown for not pouring his money down the drain. To get to the final would have been fantastic.

Matty: Instead of focusing on the defeat let's just look at the season on a whole as a success. Definitely punching above our weight with one of the smallest budgets in the league. Hopefully the squad won't get torn apart and we can build on this and the experience can make Manning's men contenders next season.

Ian: Big gulf in class between a Premier League-ready side and a top 10 side that overachieved. But we're a club on the up and given the right additions over the summer we'll be back. I'd rather have what happened than to have our season end in February with another mid-table finish.

Jason: We just don't have the firepower. The 20-point gap between us and the top four teams who have been in the Premier League was on show for all to see.

Chris: As a BCFC fan I am extremely proud of the team, they've had a great season. I think we're heading in the right direction with Manning in charge and maybe if they give him a decent budget in the summer we could be challenging those top spots.

Image source, Rex Features

Bristol City were "naive" and "not at it" during their Championship play-off exit to Sheffield United, itted captain Jason Knight.

The Robins were beaten 3-0 at Bramall Lane in Monday's second leg to lose the tie 6-0 on aggregate.

"It's not the way we wanted to go out and I think there was a bit of naivety across the two legs," the midfielder told BBC Radio Bristol.

"When we look back at the goals, it's probably more us giving them the opportunities than them making them."

Bristol City drew 2-2 with Preston on the final day of the Championship season to secure their first play-off appearance since 2008 and Knight believes that was an achievement in itself.

"Overall it's been a really positive season for us - getting to the play-offs wasn't easy so we don't want to get too down about it," he said.

"But we want to raise the standard constantly and we know over the two legs we certainly weren't at it really."

Now the dust has settled, how are you feeling as Sheffield United or Bristol City ers after the Blades made it through to the Championship play-off final?

Sheffield United ers can you go all the way and return to the Premier League?

Bristol City fans where did it go wrong?

Come back to this page later on Tuesday to find out what some of you had to say.

Image source, Rex Features

Bristol City head coach Liam Manning was unable to confirm whether striker Nahki Wells had played his final game for the club as they exited the Championship play-offs.

Wells, 34, is out of contract this summer but has led the Robins' forward line this season, scoring 10 goals.

Manning said in March he wanted the Bermuda striker to extend his stay with the club and that he was "hugely instrumental" within the playing group.

However, when asked following the 6-0 aggregate loss to Sheffield United whether Wells would be at the club in 2025-26, he said there was nothing he could say on the matter.

"I think I've made my point quite clear in what I think of Nahki and what I do with Nahki," Manning told BBC Radio Bristol.

"They're the bits now that the discussions have to happen."

Gary Owers
Former Bristol City player and BBC Radio Bristol summariser

Image source, Rex Features

A bright start [and for] the first 30 minutes, Bristol City held their own. Scott Twine had a couple of opportunities but you always thought that it would be a struggle defending set plays and that's how it turned out really.

The first goal and the second goal came directly from corners and they just lacked that physicality throughout. That's one thing they might have to look at next season, how they defend set plays.

I think they got worked out late in the season - really weak defending at the far post because they defend the near post in numbers, but teams just by that.

You always felt there was an outside chance, [but] that City had to score the first goal and they didn't. Three goals, the game was probably won at Ashton Gate.

That was the end of the fairytale.

It's an achievement getting to the play-offs, but it's a massive gap to bridge.

They've got to be aiming for the top six again, they've got to get their recruitment spot on.

It's back to the start line isn't it? Everyone will go away, reflect on the season they've had, start the rebuilding process, competition to sign the same players, who's going to invest heavily?

It shows that we have been good enough to finish sixth.

There might be some reflection that if only we'd beaten Preston North End on the last day of the season and ended up playing one of the other teams it might have been different outcome, but it wasn't and we've taken a heavy beating in the semi-finals.

Image source, Rex Features

Bristol City will be without midfielder Joe Williams and suspended centre-back Rob Dickie for Monday's play-off semi-final second leg against Sheffield United.

Williams hobbled off after 40 minutes of Thursday's 3-0 defeat at Ashton Gate in the first leg.

"Joe [is a] bad one, snapped a couple of ankle ligaments. It's incredible the fact that he tried to play on for a few more minutes and did a 40-yard sprint before coming off," boss Liam Manning told BBC Radio Bristol.

Dickie was shown a straight red card in added time at the end of the first half for a challenge on Blades forward Kieffer Moore and the Robins' appeal against his sending off has been unsuccessful meaning he is unavailable.

Manning said there was a possibility Cameron Pring and Harry Cornick "could get minutes" after being unused substitutes on Thursday night.

Cornick has appeared in only three games this season due to injury, while Pring has been out with a hamstring injury.

"Pringy and Corns had an extra few days and are in a better spot than what they were for the home game," Manning said.

Sheffield United will aim to confirm their place in the Championship play-off final on Monday (KO 20:00 BST) as they carry a 3-0 lead into the second leg of their tie with Bristol City.

The Robins will need to record the second-best comeback in EFL play-off history if they are to overturn the deficit.

The biggest comeback was in League One in 2023 when Sheffield Wednesday came from 4-0 down to beat Peterborough.

• After winning the first leg of this play-off tie 3-0 at Ashton Gate, Sheffield United are now unbeaten across their past eight games across all competitions against Bristol City (W6 D2). In that time, the Blades have kept five clean sheets in total.

• Bristol City have failed to win any of their past four away games across all competitions against Sheffield United, though three of their past four victories overall against the Blades have come at Bramall Lane.

• Sheffield United have lost each of their past two home EFL play-off fixtures (2-1 vs Nottingham Forest in 2022 & 2-1 vs Swindon Town in 2015), after going unbeaten across their first seven matches at Bramall Lane beforehand (W5 D2).

• In the history of the EFL play-offs, just 10 of 60 teams have progressed from the semi-final stage after losing their first leg on home soil, though no side has ever come back from a three-goal margin of defeat at home in the first leg to reach the final.

• Throughout the regular season in the Championship, Sheffield United kept 12 clean sheets across their 23 home league games, with only the top two sides Leeds (14) and Burnley (15) managing more.

• During the regular season, Bristol City won just four of their 23 away Championship games, with only five sides in the division managing fewer.

David Pottier, fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

City's 3-0 home defeat in the play-off semi-final first leg has given them a Herculean task at Bramall Lane on Monday night if they are to progress to the final at Wembley on 24 May.

It got me thinking about when, if ever, City have recovered such a deficit or, for that matter, surrendered one of similar magnitude.

To give City fans some hope, you need to go back to November 2002 and a League One game at Field Mill against Mansfield.

With only three minutes left to play, City found themselves trailing 4-2 and that was after they had taken a 2-1 lead after 50 minutes through a Christian Roberts goal.

Home goalkeeper Kevin Pilkington conceded a penalty, which was converted by Brian Tinnion to make it 4-3, then Leroy Lita struck to make it 4-4.

City didn't shut up shop and went looking for a winner, which came from another Roberts strike to make it 5-4 and send the travelling ers into raptures.

I did not attend that game as I was at Villa Park watching the home team demolish West Ham 4-1. I knew City were trailing as I had a friend at the game texting me score updates.

I left Villa Park shortly before the final whistle and felt the phone in my back pocket vibrate three times. I didn't check what the commotion was until I got back to the car when I then read City had achieved the impossible!

The other side of the coin is more recent and took place in February 2018. City were trying to maintain their promotion push built on an impressive first half of the season but which had faltered in the early stages of the new year.

Sunderland were involved in a relegation struggle. A much-needed win looked a certainty as City raced to a three-goal lead inside 40 minutes with an opener from Aden Flint then a couple from Famara Diedhiou.

It all went terribly wrong from the 70th minute when Josh Brownhill started the comeback putting through his own net. Ten minutes later, Aidan McGeady made it 3-2 before a second own goal, this time from Marlon Pack, in the 92nd-minute gave Sunderland a point as the game finished 3-3.

Sadly, I feel City will commence their 11th successive season in the Championship come early August.

You can hear more from David Pottier on the fans' podcast Forever Bristol City, external.